Spotlight mounting head



Jan. 17, 1956 A. l. APPLETON SPOTLIGHT MOUNTING HEAD Filed Aug. 2. 1950 INVENTOR. CZrthur @t aieion BY -z,- 6 mam (4/ 4 United States Patent SPOTLIGHT MOUNTING HEAD Arthur I. Appleton, Northbroek, Ill. Application August 2, 1950, Serial No. 177,238 1 Claim. (Cl. 240-42) The. present invention relates in general to the field of automotive accessories and more specifically to a novel lamp head construction for use in an adjustable automomeans is included inconspicuously in the original head structure, enabling the user to acquire a mirror separately or to dispense with it altogether, as he chooses.

Other objects and advantages will become apparent as the description herein proceeds, taken in connection with the accompanying drawing, wherein:

Figure 1 is a fragmentary side elevation of an illustrative spotlight lamp head embodying the present invention and having a rear view mirror attached thereto.

Fig. 2 is a fragmentary rear elevation of the lamp head of Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is a fragmentary sectional view taken longitudinally through the lamp head of Fig. 2 and in the vertical medial plane indicated by the line 33.

Fig. 3A is a further enlarged fragmentary sectional view taken longitudinally through one of the novel fastening members shown in Fig. 3.

Fig. 4 is an exploded perspective view of the head of Fi 1, taken from the rear but with the mirror omitted to illustrate more clearly its mounting means.

While the invention is susceptible of various modifications and alternative constructions, a preferred embodiment has been shown in the drawing and will be described below in considerable detail. It should be under stood, however, that there is no intention to limit the invention to the specific form disclosed, but on the contrary, the intention is to cover all modifications and alternative constructions falling within the spirit and scope of the invention as expressed in the appended claim.

In Figure 1, there is shown fragmentarily an illustrative lamp head 10 of an automotive spotlight and comprising a generally parabolic lamp housing 11 with a convex exterior surface and a concave interior surface. The housing 11 includes a reflector and lamp (not shown), together with a convex lens 12. The housing 11 is fixed upon a relatively short supporting stem 14 having an integral flange 15 with a concave upper face which nestingly receives the housing 11. The entire lamp head 10 is mounted for rotational movement about a generally upright axis, the supporting stem 14 being swivelly attached to terminal fitting 16 at the outer end of the tubular support (not shown) which passes horizontally through the body wall of the associated vehicle.

For the purpose of securing the housing 11 to the concave supporting stem flange 15, the latter is formed with a plurality of countersunk holes 18, in the present instance three in number. The holes 18 are spaced triangularly, one being centered in the upwardly extending "ice tail portion of the flange 15 and in the vertical medial plane of the head 10, the remaining two being located nearer the swivel axis of the stem 14 and disposed in straddling relation with the medial plane. The holes 18 are adapted for registration with corresponding holes in the housing 11 for the receipt of common fastening means preferably in form of rivets.

Provision is made for adapting the spotlight head 10 to mount a rear iew mirror 19 or other accessory without structural alteration, thereby permitting a manufacturer to supply the basic spotlight unit conveniently with or without the mirror. This is accomplished by initially installing in one of the holes 18 a dual purpose fastener and by utilizing such fastener as an anchor in cooperation with the tail portion of the supporting stem flange 15. In the present instance, there is installed the center one of the holes 18 a special rivet 20 fashionedwith a laterally enlarged wedge-shaped head 21 which is adapted to fit snugly against the inside contour of the housing 11, and a shank terminating in an end portion 22 flared outwardly against the countersunk portion of the hole 18 in the tail of the flange 15. The rivet 20 is formed with an axially extending tapped bore 24 which is susceptible of threadedly receiving an accessory mounting screw 25. To preclude turning of the rivet 20 as the screw 25 is tightened or loosened, the longitudinal axis of the rivet 20 is disposed at an acute angle to the tangential plane of the housing 13 at the point of entry of such axis. By the same token, the rivet head 21 is formed so that its face 21A, which seats against the inside of the housing 11, is slightly skewed relative to the longitudinal axis of the rivet. This permits the skewed face 21A to make full contact with the housing 11 when the rivet occupies only one angular position about its axis, this being the position in which the rivet is installed (see Figs. 3, 3A). Moreover, the rivet 29 resists any tendency to turn about its axis by reason of the wedging efiect set up by the head 21 and its skewed seating face 21A.

As clearly shown in the drawing, the structure just described is admirably adapted to serve as a convenient, rigid support for the mirror 19 or a similar accessory. In the device as illustrated, the mirror 19 is carried by means of a universal swivel head 26 integral with a mirror supporting bracket 28. The end of the bracket remote from the head 26 spreads outwardly into a mounting flange 29 presenting a dished face 39 of appropriate contour to nest snugly over the tail portion of the supporting stem flange 15. Thus when the bracket 28 is seated against the flange 15 and the screw 25 is tightened into the tapped bore 24 of the rivet 20, the bracket 28 is efiectively secured in place and in this instance projects upwardly and outwardly toward the rear of the lamp housing 11 and at an angle in the neighborhood of with respect to the vertical medial plane of the spotlight head lll. Preferably, the mounting screw 25 is fashioned with a slot 31 of peculiar shape and is of the type known in the trade as a theft-proof screw. A smooth exterior surface can readily be provided on mirror bracket flange 29 by the simple expedient of countersinking the screw head 25 therein as by means of frustoconical recess 32.

It will now be appreciated that there has been provided a novel spotlight head which adequately fulfills the objectives set forth earlier herein. Although the structure involved is relatively simple in character, it possesses a high degree of commercial importance since it enables a manufacturer to market a spotlight with or without an accessory and thereby makes the product more versatile. In instances where the spotlight is sold without the mirror, it is preferable to provide the mounting screw 25 and to tighten the same with its head partially nested against the flared end portion of the rivet 20. This procedure 3. serves to exclude dirt and moisture from the interior of the lamp housing 11.

I claim as my invention:

* 'An automotive spotlight head comprising, in combination, a swivel mounted supporting stem, a flange integral with said supporting stern and having an upwardly extending tail portion, said flange and its tail portion presenting a concave upper face, a lamp housing fixed to said flange of said supporting stem in a nested and abutting relation with said concave upper face, said lamp housing having a convex exterior surface and a concave interior surface, a plurality of rivets disposed in projecting relation through said flange and said lamp housing and rigidly securing the latter to the former, one of said rivets passing through said tail portion of said flange and having a longitudinal axis skewed relative to the tangential plane of said housing at the point of entry of such axis on said convex exterior face, said one rivet also having a tapped axial bore therein adapted for threaded engagement with a mounting screw for an accessory such as a mirror bracket, and a laterally enlarged wedge-shaped head on said one rivet disposed in snug abutting engagement with said concave interior surface of said lamp housing, said head having a seating face bearing against said concave interior surface and skewed relative to said longitudinal axis of said one rivet.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 916,285 Elwood Mar. 23, 1909 1,206,871 Locke Dec. 5, 1916 1,230,144 Faw June 19, 1917 1,387,085 Whippey Aug. 9, 1921 2,021,316 Marx Nov. 19, 1935 2,188,422 Waner Jan. 30,1940 2,222,747 Klein et al Nov. 26, 1940 2,454,931 Larson Nov. 30, 1948 2,540,257 Gross Feb. 6, 1951 2,594,784

Mead Apr. 29, 1952' 

